cannabisnews.com: County Leads Surge in Marijuana Arrests
County Leads Surge in Marijuana Arrests
Posted by CN Staff on May 08, 2005 at 19:16:47 PT
By Noel S. Brady, Journal Reporter
Source: King County Journal
King County, Washington -- A recent nationwide study has identified King County as having the sharpest increase since 1990 in marijuana-related arrests among the country's 10 most populous counties.When King County Prosecutor Norm Maleng sparked a political movement three years ago declaring the ``war on drugs has failed,'' marijuana arrests in King County had risen 418 percent between 1999 and 2002, according to the study results released this week by The Sentencing Project.
Misdemeanor and felony possession arrests alone were up 465 percent, the study say, while pot-dealer arrests rose 99 percent.The figures illustrate the futility of prosecuting nonviolent drug offenders, particularly those who use marijuana, said Roger Goodman, drug policy director for the King County Bar Association.``It's shocking but true,'' said Goodman of the statistics produced by The Sentencing Project. ``The focus ought to be on crimes against persons, crimes against property rather than psychoactive drugs.''In the King County Bar's own Drug Policy Project report released this year, the Bar proposed a plan ``for replacing the current framework of criminal prohibition with one of legal regulation.''The Bar and a growing contingent of lawmakers, legal professionals and health-care workers want to reduce the roles prosecution and incarceration play in dealing with the drug problem by increasing money spent on addiction treatment.Goodman said he also hopes drugs such as marijuana can be taken off the black market to remove the vast profit motive for people to grow and sell it. Regulating the drug would restrict its access to children and provide prompt health care and essential services to addicts, Goodman said.``It's really about protecting kids and saving money,'' he said.Bellevue police Capt. Jim Kowalczyk, who leads the multi-agency Eastside Narcotics Task Force, said his narcotics officers aren't interested in putting low-level, nonviolent pot smokers in jail.Maybe so, but one of the Task Force's most effective strategies is arresting recreational users and making deals with them for their help in busting their suppliers.``Our goal is to get to the source and stop it,'' Kowalczyk said. ``We want to go all the way up to the biggest fish we can get. A common way to get to the producer is to go after low-level users.''Whether it's marijuana, methamphetamine or heroin, police are responsible for enforcing the law, he said. If there is an emphasis, it's on those who supply the most of any illegal substance.``Are we winning the war on drugs? I don't think so,'' Kowalczyk said.The study by The Sentencing Project, a Washington, D.C.-based left-leaning think tank, says the drug war's focus has shifted over the past decade from hard drugs to marijuana, which now accounts for nearly half of all drug arrests nationwide.The numbers in the study were taken from the FBI's uniform crime report, and according to the study's co-author Marc Mauer, those statistics take into account only cases in which marijuana sales or possession was the primary charge.``It calls into question the strategy of the war on drugs at the present,'' Mauer said. ``It doesn't appear that arresting this number of people for marijuana is effective.''The study indicates that the percentage of heroin and cocaine cases plunged from 55 percent of all drug arrests in 1992 to less than 30 percent 10 years later. Meanwhile, pot arrests jumped from 28 percent to 45 percent.Mauer said the trend immediately followed the national focus on crack cocaine in the late 1980s. When the crack problem leveled off, the federal government continued spending about $35 billion a year to fund the war on drugs.Along with the rise in pot arrests was a rise in overall drug arrests, from fewer than 1.1 million in 1990 to more than 1.5 million a decade later. Still, about 80 percent of the jump came from marijuana arrests, the study found.The study also showed that although African Americans make up 14 percent of marijuana users generally, they account for nearly a third of all marijuana arrests.``We need to consider whether current law enforcement strategies are having the effect they should have,'' Mauer said.From a local perspective, Kowalczyk said, the King County statistics don't necessarily correspond with the direction the Eastside Narcotics Task Force has taken.In 1999, he said, the Task Force raided 18 marijuana growing operations, which on average include about 100 plants. The next year, the Task Force busted 22 grow houses, and in 2001 it busted 10. In 2002, the team found only nine grow operations, and in 2003 it busted seven.While police here are concerned with the increasing potency of home-grown pot and the importation of notorious ``B.C. Bud,'' the Task Force in recent years has grown more focused on the damage caused by methamphetamines and the dangerous labs popping up to make crystal meth. ``That's scarier to me than anything,'' Kowalczyk saidDespite the statistical appearance that King County has gotten tougher on pot heads, Goodman said, Washington state and King County specifically have led the country in a cultural change for dealing with the drug problem.In 2002, the state Legislature reduced prison sentences for nonviolent drug offenders and earmarked the money saved by releasing them for addiction treatment and drug courts, which offer effective alternatives to jail.So far, the results have been positive, Goodman said. So much so that last week state lawmakers passed a bill for an additional $33 million to be used for drug treatment and an additional $6.7 million earmarked especially to help kids with drug problems.``The Legislature has enthusiastically responded,'' he said. ``I think there has been a cultural change.''Complete Title: County Leads Surge in Marijuana Arrests - Study Argues Drug War Focus has Shifted Away from Heroin, CocaineSource: King County Journal (Bellevue, WA)Author: Noel S. Brady, Journal ReporterPublished: May 08, 2005Copyright: 2005, Horvitz Newspapers, Inc.Website: http://www.kingcountyjournal.com/ Contact: letterstoeditor kingcountyjournal.comRelated Articles & Web Site:The Sentencing Project http://www.sentencingproject.org/Marijuana Becomes Focus of Drug War http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread20619.shtmlMarijuana Behind 45 Percent of U.S. Drug Arrestshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread20618.shtml
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Comment #11 posted by FoM on May 10, 2005 at 20:05:36 PT
ekim
Thanks for the Hemp link.
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Comment #10 posted by FoM on May 10, 2005 at 20:03:59 PT
ekim
I really like the web site too. I get email updates from them and it's nice to read.
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Comment #9 posted by ekim on May 10, 2005 at 19:59:38 PT
thanx again FoM
that is a great web site -- glad to see Todd is brain storming. if anyone is thinken about logos or names with hemp wear ck out bottom.cnews would be nice on the pockets:)
http://www.hempgoodsetc.com/
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Comment #8 posted by FoM on May 09, 2005 at 21:04:32 PT
ekim
I read in an email group somewhere that Todd was working with this project and was helping design Hemp seat covers for the bus. I only read it one time and it was a while ago so I might not have it totally right. He is working or was working with Julia Butterfly!http://www.circleoflifefoundation.org/
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Comment #7 posted by ekim on May 09, 2005 at 20:57:06 PT
thanks for looken FoM
hope everyone had a great time at the gala tonight.talking about Peter, how is Todd doing he must be there. Someone from Hollywood should make Peters movie, ant nobodys business if i do
http://www.leap.howard/
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Comment #6 posted by harry on May 09, 2005 at 08:55:53 PT:
City of L.ost Angels (aptly named)
I suppose the local cops, under direction of the DEA, are honing their craft in preparation for the Raich decision.I predict that the decision, the Bush admin, and all the negative lies and hoopla in the world will not squelch this popular citizen's movement for safe access and fair laws.If we don't overcome, we're coming over! Jez a matter of time, comrades. "Don't let em bring ya down it's only castles turning, find someone whose burning, and you will come around" -slightly altered, like "let he whose not stoned cast the first sin".Living in hope instead of fear, Harry-
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Comment #5 posted by Hope on May 08, 2005 at 21:58:18 PT
Ok
I've been concerned, but if that's what they want...mum's the word.
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Comment #4 posted by FoM on May 08, 2005 at 21:46:18 PT
Hope
I have read a little more but I don't know if they want publicity that's the impression I got from what I read.
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Comment #3 posted by Hope on May 08, 2005 at 21:40:34 PT
The LA Bust
It's strange we haven't heard anything about the compassion club bust. I've been wondering and waiting for some news. What can be happening?E_Johnson, do you know anything about what's going on with that?
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Comment #2 posted by FoM on May 08, 2005 at 20:19:18 PT
ekim
I have been looking for something about tomorrow's event in LA but I can't find one thing. I'll keep looking though.
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Comment #1 posted by ekim on May 08, 2005 at 20:03:53 PT
LA club bust right before MPP and Montel
The MarijuanaNews World Report for May 5, 2005
http://www.marijuananews.com/
Full program title:
Montel Williams Appeals to Congress, Blair Appeals to Reefer Madness Before UK Elections, Reefer Madness Appeals to Walters, But The Propaganda Backfires As The Washington Post Reports Arrest Data on Its Front Page. A Conversation with Allen St. Pierre, New National Director of NORML. $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$any word on LA bust. Calling Amy Goodman where are you.is the MPP event in LA on the 9 going to be sent out on the net.
http://www.leap.cc/events
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